VIVA BOLIVIA!!

Its already been 4 weeks since I departed Bolivia. (Sorry its taken me so long to write in this thing)

As I immerse myself in the exciting journey of self-scrutiny called "job hunting" (hope you sense the sarcasm), I reflect back on my time spent in Bolivia with nostalgia.

The people I met, the experiences I had, I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Yes, despite the lost luggage (which remains lost), the director of the shelter not knowing who the hell we were, the lack of organization at the organization (ironic how its still called "organization"...)and not being able to carry out any of the tasks we were sent to do, it was still a wonderful experience.

Even if I knew this was all going to happen, I still would have gone. Because all the problems I faced down there ended up just making me a stronger, more flexible, adaptable, and positive person. And hey, I even picked up a new language!

I wanted to go on an internship because I wanted experience in international development. But if I look deeper, what I was really seeking was a challenge. Could I do this? Can I handle it? Did I really have the strength I thought I did? Those were the questions I wanted answered. A challenge to test myself, in an unknown environment, an unfamiliar language. Well a challenge is what I asked for, and a challenge is what I got!!!! Can't complain, right?

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. The old saying. I was given really shitty lemons and made a citrus punch. I didn't make lemonade like I was supposed to, but I worked with those sour lemons and added some other ingredients to make it rich and nutritious. That is how I see my internship.

I learned a lot, not just about Bolivia and about Bolivians, but most of all, about myself. I discovered new strengths and weaknesses and even unexpectedly found out how assertive I could be. (Sandra, you know all about it!)

Now that I am back in my daily life here in Toronto Ontario, I am feeling all the typical feelings one feels after having spent some time overseas. I am happy to be back, to see friends and family, to catch up with their lives and mine. And I go about my daily life, but sometimes, I stop and feel empty. "What do I have to show for my 6 months down there?" "Was I able to make a difference?". And it can be hard because I possess no physical evidence of my work and time spent down there. Its not a visible change.

Maybe I will never know how, if at all, I made a difference to someone's life. But I like to think I did. Those kids who always came running to me the second I arrived at the shelter may not remember me in 10 years, but during my time there, maybe I was able to show how much they are cared about, how much they are loved, and how much they mean to me.
I know they have given me and taught me so much more than I was able to give them, and I am so thankful to have had the chance to meet them all.

Living in one of the poorest countries in South America was a truly humbling experience. In so many ways, Bolivians know the true value of life much more than we do. We are washed in the capitalist mindset that buying products will increase our happiness, and tend to forget that some of the most important things in life that bring true happiness cannot be bought, like family, friendship, love. In Bolivia, I found that as dire as their living conditions were, people were generally happy with what they had.

Although I've learned a lot from my 6 months there, I feel I have yet to integrate this experience and lessons learn from this into my life. I believe that is a process that will take time. Eventually, I will probably look back at this experience and realize "oh, that is where this internship took me". Until then, I'm going to take it one step at a time, starting with ... finding a job.

Thanks to all those who read this. It makes me feel so warm inside when you guys ask me about stuff you read. The whole point of this was to share my experience, and it looks like this achieved that purpose. And thank you for all the support you gave me while I was in Bolivia.

Last but not least, thank you to all the wonderful people I met in Bolivia. You have made such an impact on me and I will never forget you. Hopefully, someday, I will get a chance to go to Bolivia/North America/Europe - where ever you are - to see you.

Casa de la Amistad

My final weeks in Bolivia were the most fulfilling, job-wise.

Back in December, I got in touch with an organization called Casa de la Amistad ("House of friendship"). Its an NGO that provides support for children whose parents are incarcerated.

I was eager to start volunteering with them right away, but it was closing for Christmas and the year-end break, and wouldn't re-open till end of January, when the children go back to school. So I was only able to work with them my last few weeks in Bolivia, but it was very worthwhile. I spent my mornings there at Casa de la Amistad, and in the afternoons, I went to my normal work at the orphanage.

At Casa de la Amistad, I was assinged to the room with kids from grade 1-4, and helped them do their homework. I enjoyed being able to use my Spanish, while learning more vocabulary. The kids are old enough to understand that Spanish is not my first language, and so they are willing to explain words to me, or draw pictures to help me understand. I was thrilled at this exchange of knowledge! And the kids were just wonderful. I had a preconception of them being emotionally disturbed, with their parents in jail and all. But I was completely wrong, they were as cheerful, kind, and fun as any other child.

I also helped some older boys with their English homework. My first crack at teaching English! It was fun, although difficult, since I had to explain it in Spanish. But it felt good to be able to contribute.

I can't remember how much of this process of finding other volunteer work I had talked about in this blog, but it was looooong. Upon realizing I was only going to work at the orphanage in the afternoons, in late October/early November, I started looking for other work I could do in the mornings. I had a list of possible organizations I could work for, and started contacting the ones I had interest in.

Back then, I wasn't quite comfortable with Spanish yet, so i absolutely detested making phone calls. This limited my options of organizations to contact, because I was only willing to contact the ones I could directly go to their office and talk to someone face-to-face. So I contacted 3, and I had set something up with one organization, but this one just fell through. Then I started volunteering for another organization, and the people there were wonderful, and so enthusiastic about having me, but when I started working there, there was nothing for me to do. I observed other Bolivian volunteers, and they didn't do much either except sit around and wait for people to come into their office.

I was really looking for something more stimulating and more challenging, so I kept on looking. FINALLY, in December, I got in touch with Casa de la Amistad (by December, I had no fear of telephones) and when I walked into their office for the first time, a few Canadian flags popped into my vision. Apparently, they recieve a lot of funding and support from the Canadian Baptist Church, and were used to having Canadian volunteers. WHY did I not go to them earlier..... yes, I asked myself that sooo many times.... well, I know the reason, its because I only had their phone number, so it wasn't on my initial list of organiztions to contact!!!

So I missed out on working with them longer, but better late than never, right?! I'm so glad I got to work with them. Working with those kids was another highlight of my internship. And even though it was freakishly long and often a very discouraging process, my search for other meaningful volunteer work was really challenging and a good experience. This was a big part of my internship, I think. It forced me to get myself out there and really test my determination! Because I could have sat on my ass and just relaxed my whole 6 months down there, but I wanted to get the most out of this experience as possible, and I think I achieved that goal by putting all my effort into making it so.

P.S.

Some devoted readers of this blog have asked me what happened to my partner-in-crime. Did she make it back to Bolivia? What happened to the innocent girl who moved in the day after Tiana left, you know, the one you guys were scheming to kick out?

Well folks, my beloved co-intern did not immediately get better upon return like we had hoped, and thus was unable to return to Bolivia. We (me and my 3 other flatmates) missed her a lot.

But its true that every cloud has a silver lining - ours was Fanni. Our new Luxemburgish flatmate. I'm sure it must have been hard for her, since the 4 of us had already become really good friends by the time she had moved in, and knowing she was taking the room of a good friend of ours who might be coming back.

But she got along with all of us well, and quickly became a positive addition to our little family.

And we all lived happily ever after!!

Fundraiser Results

I'd like to say THANK YOU to all you wonderfully generous people who enthusiastically donated money to my little fundraising project. I raised a whopping $800!!!!

After consulting with the director of the shelter, I was able to buy: mountains and mountains of diapers, dozens of skin creams, 5 school gym t-shirts for some of the older kids who did not have them for school, napkins, toiletries, hair ties (for girls), pencils, erasers, kitchen ware, YOU NAME IT, WE GOT IT!!

So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone!!! Not just from me, but from the director, and from the kids as well =) You guys are awesome!!!

Tupiza and Salar de Uyuni

Tupiza is a village known for being the place of death of Buch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Not sure to what extent they are known amongst the average Canadian in their 20s, but I had never heard of them. But hey, i'm an immigrant. They are legendary outlaws from the States who robbed one bank too many and so escaped to Bolivia. They met their demise in Tupiza. (There is a movie made about them starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Maybe most people would know the movie?)

That is what Tupiza is known for. Appropriately, its surrounding mountains and landscapes remind you of the Wild West. We took a tour on horseback, which was enjoyable except for when the horses started galloping and I was sure I would be flung off and break my back bone and never walk again. But luckily, my horse seemed to like me enough not to do that.

From Tupiza, my sister and I had planned to take a 4-day tour of the Salar de Uyuni and its lakes nearby. We had already called the tour agency, and they were waiting for us when we got there, but when we got there they told us they cant send out a tour today because there is too much rain. So we'd have to wait until the next day.

But we were pressed for time, since my sister had a flight to catch on Monday. So our only hope was to go to Uyuni and take a 3 day tour from there. To see the actual salt lake, you can just take a day trip from Uyuni, but if you want to see all the beautiful lagunas (lakes) nearby and the flamingos that rest there you have to take a tour that is longer. From Uyuni, you can take a 3 day tour and from Tupiza, a 4 day tour.

We took the train to Uyuni, and this went smoothly. We hoped to catch a 3 day tour departing from Uyuni the following day. However, when we asked around the tour agencies, most of them said they also cant leave that day because there is too much water. Or the ones that were leaving said the 3 day tour might end up being a 4 day tour because of the rain. Soooo, my sister and I settled on a 1 night 2 day tour, and our night would be spent IN the salt lake, in a hotel made of salt.

http://test.inspera.no/kursweb/jarle/sa/img_182.jpg


The salt lake it not a normal lake. Hard to describe, so take a look here at some photos: (they're not my pictures)

http://www.etravelphotos.com/bolivia/2000sa-026-72s.html

http://www.kayestler.de/chile_bolivien_peru/salar.jpg


When it is dry season and there is no water, you can see the top layer of the salt that has dried and makes a thick layer. They say there are about 11 layers, each layer being anywhere between 2-10 m thick. (That's why cars can drive over them) The powder of salt is like snow, and most areas, the salt makes hexagonal honeycomb-type shapes on the top layer. I read that this salt lake was created as a result of a larger salt lake slowly decreasing in size after much of the water had evaporated (thousands of years ago). What was left was this smaller salt lake, with a higher concentration of salt.

During the rainy season (which is NOW), there is a layer of water over the crust of salt. The water and the reflection of the salt make the salt lake like a big mirror, and the sky reflects perfectly onto the water. Its spectacular and surreal. When you are driving through it, you feel like you are driving through the sky and if you look far into the horizon, you can't tell where the land ends and the sky begins.

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Travel/Pix/pictures/2004/02/17/saltflats8.jpg

http://www.expemag.com/medias/n02/bolivie/8.JPG

http://www.exodus.co.uk/pictures/vllh.jpg


As if that wasn't magical enough, we got to watch both the sunset and sunrise in the salar, and we sat in amazement as the setting and rising sun coloured not just the sky but also the lake in all hues unimaginable. It was absolutely breathtaking.

And as if THAT wasn't enough either, it happened to be a full moon that night we spent in the salar. The moon was so bright that you could see clearly outside with just the light of the moon. I think it was double its actual brightness because of the light that reflects off the water as well.

It was definately a highlight of my Bolivian adventure. If someone were to ask me "Where do you recommend I go in Bolivia?", I wouldn't even have to think about it to answer "Salar de Uyuni". Its truly magnificent and an out-of-this-world experience!!

My only regret is that I did not get to see the lakes. I hear they are fascinating as well, so it looks like I will have to make my way down there once again sometime.

Final week of travelling in Bolivia

My sister has left back to Toronto, and now I am left in Cochabamba for my final week of work.

Let me tell you about my week of travelling in Bolivia with my sister. The day after her arrival, I took her to both my volunteering position in the morning, where I help kids whose parents are incarcerated with their school homework, and also to my formal "work" at the orphanage. She liked both, and as every person who comes to visit the orphanage, fell in love with some of the kids.

That same night, we took a bus to Santa Cruz, about 12 hours away from Cochabamba. Santa Cruz is the wealthiest city in Bolivia, being the home of several important oil, soya and sugar companies. The city produces roughly 1/3 of the country's economic output, and recently they have voiced the desire to have more autonomy, which would allow these companies to pay less tax to the government sitting in La Paz. Of course La Paz doesn't like that idea since it would mean a decrease in tax revenue for them, but with increasing pressure from the people through demonstrations and roadblocks, the government has been forced to initiate talks towards increased autonomy for Santa Cruz.

Arriving in Santa Cruz, I instantly noticed that yes, indeed this was the richest city in Bolivia. People drove shiny new SUVs, and were incredibly fashion conscious, and I took that as a sign that they had enough $$ to be so.

In Santa Cruz, my sister and I visited a local zoo, saw some colouful birds, hyper monkeys, and lazy jaguars. We also did some shopping, and explored the city. My impression of Santa Cruz was quite different from the rest of Bolivia. Maybe it was the weather (humid and hot) or maybe it was the affluence of its people. I almost felt like I wasn't in Bolivia.

But if I think about it, its the exact opposite.

A city like Santa Cruz is very typical in a country like Bolivia where there is an immense gap between the rich and poor. In rural areas, people are living in the most primitive conditions, without water, without electricity and are often illiterate. And in a city like Santa Cruz, people have money to spend on movies, clothes, makeup. So the city of Santa Cruz and its people were illustrative of the rich minority living in a poor country like Bolivia. So I feel that in Santa Cruz, I saw a reality of Bolivia that I hadn't seen up until that point.

From Santa Cruz, we took a plane to Tarija, a city in the southern part of Bolivia. They say the people and culture there are more Argentinian than Bolivian, since its close to the border with Argentina, thus susceptible to Argentinian influence. Plus, geographically its more than 24 hours by bus to any major city, so its a bit cut-off from the rest of Bolivia. But from what I saw, it had the homey Bolivian town feel to it, and it was quite nice.

We had planned to stay there just a day, and take the night bus to Tupiza. BUT, one of the rural areas surrounding Tarija was conducting a roadblock, and so no buses were leaving that day. Apparently, this village was protesting because they wanted the government to build a paved road that would go through their town, so that the long distance buses would pass by there, thus allowing them to make an income by selling products to tourists coming through on buses. As of now, the buses go on a different route, cutting off this village's access to travellers.

So we were stuck in Tarija...and Tarija is a nice little town, but there ain't much to see for tourists. So we were eager to leave. The following morning, i called the bus terminal to see how things were, but the roadblock had not been removed yet. So my sister and I spent a lazy morning watching tv (TV!!! yessss!!) in the hostel. At noon, I tried again, and they tell me "They are opening the roadblock for one hour to let some buses through, so we have a bus leaving in 30 minutes". I booked it to my room, and we packed and rushed to the terminal.

Luckily, there were still seats and so we hopped on the bus and sure enough, it departed, heading to Tupiza. So we thought "yay, our schedule is back on track!".

BUT the Bolivians were out to give my sister and I the true Bolivian experience.... apparently stunting the roadblock wasn't enough, they also felt they should stop us at the roadblock and make us spend the night on the bus because we weren't able to get by.

So we spent about 5 hours just sitting on the bus at the block, not able ot move forward. The passengers on my bus decided we should spend the night, and when the sun comes out, we'll cross the roadblock by foot with our baggage, and get a bus on the other side. Ok fine, so we take out our warm clothes and prepare to endure the night in our small seats.

But magically, around 1am, the bus started to move and we were heading to Tupiza!! We arrived in Tupiza in the morning. Phew!

to be continued......

Small Fundraising Idea

Folks, if you haven´t recieved my email about my little fundraising idea, you can read the following (I´m too lazy to write another paragraph about it, so i´m just gona cut and paste from what i wrote to everyone):

Hello!!

I'm still in Bolivia, and as my departure is creeping up, i've been thinking about what i can give back to the children of the orphanage at where I've spent my last 4 months, in return for all that they have given me. Their radiant smiles, their vibrant laughter, their bottom-less energy has so many times brought joy to my heart and made a mundane day so memorable. (Not to mention letting me sleep well at night from being so exhausted from playing with them)

There are so many things I would love to give them, more clothes, more toys, more pencils and crayons. Or even fix the old and dangerous railings in the buildings.

I was considering the possiblity of making a small donation prior to my departure, possibly to fix such railings, or for whatever they deem is most necessary. While thinking about that, I thought, "I'll bet there are a lot of people back home who would love to pitch in." Obviously, the more I can collect to give, the more the children recieve.

So, if you would like to pitch in, any amount is great, even as little as $5, it would be greatly appreciated not just by me, but by the kids. If you are interested, just write back and tell me the amount you would like to give, and I will add that to my humble donation. And we can set up a way for you to pay me back, whether it be meeting up personally when I get back, or just sending it via mail.

Thanks for your time!

Sincerely,
asuka


* I am now considering buying the kids a bunch of new tricycles and bicycles, since they ones they have are getting super old.
* If you are interested, email me at asuka_y@hotmail.com
* If you´d like to donate, please let me know by MARCH 1st
* Thank you SO MUCH for all of you who have already responded with such generous donations.